Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Joss Reimer, says 26 people across the country are being contacted by public health authorities to monitor for hantavirus symptoms, which are being deemed as “low risk.”
She said that all of the passengers shared flights with a confirmed hantavirus case, though they are not considered to be close contacts due to where they were seated on the flight.
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Currently, nine individuals in Canada have been classified as high-risk exposure cases and have been directed to self-isolate.
Reimer also repeated that the “overall risk to the general population” in connection to the outbreak “remains low.”
“We have robust processes and procedures in place and further spread of the virus within Canada is not expected,” she said. “We are taking the situation and our commitment to supporting the health of Canadians, both here and abroad very seriously.”
More to come.